Saturday, October 30, 2010

Long, three-set matches and tiebreakers were the order of the day on Saturday in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association state 3-A women's tennis tournament championships at the Burlington Tennis Center.

MacKenzie LaSure of Asheville, last year's singles runner-up, earned the title this time with a grueling three-set victory over Masey DeMoss of Mayodan McMichael, 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-1. LaSure had cruised in her morning semifinal, winning in straight sets at love, but DeMoss had to rally past Jasmine Gabriel of Weddington, dropping the first set at love but coming back to win 0-6, 6-1, 6-2.

All of the Saturday double matches went three sets, with the Weddington team of Sarah Carroll and Kindell Schmitt outlasting Lauren Brooker and Caroline Smith of Raleigh Cardinal Gibbons 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, for the state championship.

Brooker and Smith lost only one game in four sets in their two Friday victories and then ousted Rachel Tomchin and Grace Deering of Charlotte Catholic on Saturday morning.

Carroll and Schmitt took three sets in their morning semifinal match to eliminate the Theodossiou sisters, Taylor and Alix, of Asheville 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4.